


in vino veritas

by HollyTheFluffyCat



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Drunken Confessions, Drunkenness, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, In Vino Veritas, I’ll add more tags later, M/M, Making Out, Sharing a Bed, Sokka (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, he’s sad :(, not that much like only six years, sokka needs a hug, zuko gets drunk as fuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24784126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollyTheFluffyCat/pseuds/HollyTheFluffyCat
Summary: Sokka probably should’ve stopped Zuko from taking all those shots when he still had the chance.(or, drunk Zuko has no filter, and Sokka doesn’t know what to do)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 238





	in vino veritas

**Author's Note:**

> why do I post most of my fics at like,,,, midnight
> 
> not read over, sorry for any typos!!! also I really wanted to have a zukka vino veritas fic but I struggled so damn hard writing drunk Zuko so :(  
> fair warning this is decently angsty, but it’ll gets better!!!

Sokka was getting real tired of being the caretaker of these idiots.

Granted, Zuko was older than him, so maybe he should be a caretaker, but he was still an idiot, so Sokka's point still stood. Right now, he was sitting alone, sipping on a cocktail as he watched through bleary eyes as Toph chugged her fifth cup of beer, cheered on by the crowd surrounding her (minus Aang, bless his soul.) 

"Spirits, fuck me..." He muttered, rubbing his temples and praying for the spirits to strike him down. Toph was 18 now, that was a hell of a celebration, sure. And he was happy for her!!! Like, she had been a tiny twelve-year-old only a bit ago, and now she could legally drink, hooray!!! But did that really warrant her chugging drinks like she was gonna die tomorrow??? Luckily, she had a high as hell tolerance, but still.

The worst part was that Toph wasn't alone in her drunkenness. Zuko, Suki, Katara, Haru, Mai, Ty Lee, along with some of Toph's Earth Kingdom friends, all of them were at least _mildly_ buzzed, and at worst, shit-faced. A wonderful example of the latter was Zuko, downing another shot, (and really, Sokka had no idea how many he had downed at that point, but all he knew was it was definitely too many) and then immediately after whooping and slurring out something that was probably supposed to be a cheer for Toph. (though honestly, it sounded more like somebody had put a coherent thought into a blender)

While Sokka was zoning the hell out, questioning the life decisions that led him up to this point, Aang had moved on from watching Toph's... _display of dominance_ with concern, and instead had slid into the seat right next to him, peering at him curiously with round eyes. 

Aang had aged decently well the past couple years, losing the baby fat from his cheeks, face taking on a more thoughtful appearance, body growing more lean and lanky, voice turning to a deeper tone, and worst of all, growing _almost_ as tall as Sokka. Not quite, but too close for comfort. Either way, he was still a kid. 118, but still a kid. Aang glanced at his cocktail, tilting his head and asking, "I thought you weren't drinking, Sokka?" 

Sokka let out a small groan. "I'm literally just drinking one cocktail, dude, still can fly the bison. Only people you should be concerned about is _them_." Aang laughed, and yep, his laugh was probably the main thing that had remained the same about him. Sokka couldn't help but smile at the sound of it, even as the possibility of having to deal with drunk...everyone, actually, was quite imminent.

Speaking of drunk, Toph sauntered over, clapping her hand on Aang's shoulder as he flinched. "Hey, Twinkletoes, why'd you leave to join mopey ol' Boomerang here?" Other than her red cheeks and ever so slightly slurred words, it was pretty hard to tell she was drunk. Sokka rolled his eyes, mildly insulted but not willing to take the bait.

Aang frowned a bit, and replied, "He looked lonely, and I wasn't drinking anyway, so..." (That part was true; Aang didn't drink much cause he hated the taste) Ok, that one stung a bit. Did he really look that lonely and sad? I mean, he was drinking a cocktail alone and glaring at people, so maybe. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Katara draping her arms around him, sniffling. Yeah, she was definitely drunk. Drunk Katara often switched between her becoming the happiest girl on earth to just utterly a wreck, and Sokka supposed today was a sad drunk day.

"Sokkaaa!" she cried, voice a wail as she unintelligibly bawled out something that was probably sad shit from their past that Sokka didn't really want to think about. In her distress, even as Aang quickly hopped off his seat to comfort his girlfriend, she accidentally waterbended, tipping over both his cocktail glass and Toph's mug of beer. Well, there went his drink.

He wasn't nearly as pissed as Toph though, who furiously shouted, "Aw, c'mon, sugar queen!!!" Sokka tuned out the ensuing argument, because spirits, those two could go at it when they really wanted to, instead staring absentmindedly at everyone else. At first, his vision lingered on Zuko for a bit, and then he registered it and quickly looked away, focusing his attention instead on Suki. She seemed to be having a grand time, chatting happily with Haru, and Tui and La, Sokka should stop being such a masochist and staring so longingly at his ex. The agreement had been mutual that they just didn't work well together, but spirits damn it, he hated being single.

He was barely tipsy, but he was thinking maybe he _was_ sort of a sad drunk.

* * *

Like all parties, it came to an end, and slowly but surely, the conversation lulled, and they slowly started filing out, giving Toph (still not drunk, surprisingly) congrats, until it was just the original Gaang left. Katara's crying had mostly ceased, but she still clung to Aang, burying her face in the crook of his neck (which, wow, the PDA between the two of them made him so damn jealous, only couple worse than them was maybe Mai and Ty Lee.) Toph had taken to teasing an absolutely shitfaced Zuko, for being, what Sokka had overhead, "a light-weight pussy who can't take a few shots." Not that Zuko minded, he was just giggly as all hell. And Sokka, of course, was annoyed and alone, hopping onto Appa as their designated flyer.

When they all finally got on (Zuko and Toph helped on by Aang), Toph finally stopped bullying Zuko, instead deciding to drop an absolute bombshell on them. "Hey, do you guys remember how I rented that Earth Kingdom house thingie for us just for the weekend?" She announced, tone casual as she laid back, arms behind her head, "There's one eensy-weensy little problem and it's that there's only three beds."

Spirits, tonight was a disaster, wasn't is? 

Sokka whipped around, protesting, "What?!-", and he wasn't alone, as everyone, even sniffling Katara, was definitely not happy with this arrangement, voicing their grievances. Toph just laughed. "Wow, the looks on your faces must be _hilarious_ right now. Well, I call dibs on the king bed, cause it's my birthday and fuck you, and you four losers can share the two queen-sized beds."

Toph smugly grinned as the yells hurled towards her only got louder.

* * *

When Appa finally landed on the floor, letting out a loud yawn, they had discussed room arrangements. To Sokka's utter disbelief, Toph got to keep her damn king bed (she added on her birthday argument, saying she was the one who paid for the whole thing, which, admittedly, was true), and Katara and Aang were sharing one of the queen-sized beds and Zuko and Sokka were sharing the other one. Toph hopped onto the dirt and did her usual ritual of hugging it, relishing in her element like the gremlin she was, right as Aang gently airbended a sleepy Katara down off of the flying bison.

That left Sokka and Zuko. Sokka wearily glanced back at Zuko, noting with mild annoyance that he was pretty conked out, eyes fluttered shut. Great, this was gonna be fun. Zuko was only a little taller than him, but Tui and La, trying to carry him was an endeavor. It took a wonderful three minutes to find the right position to heft Zuko up and off Appa's back, and by the time he had figured it out, everyone had gone inside. Sokka just barely avoided dropping Zuko on his head while dragging him off, and as he let out a sigh of relief, gently placing him on the floor, Zuko hummed, pushing himself up and rubbing his eyes.

"Are you-are you kidding me?!?" He hissed out, slamming his fists against his head. The whole time Zuko could've just...woken up and gotten off himself. But when he looked at Zuko, his frustrated thoughts stuttered to a stop. Zuko looked...different. His cheeks were bright red, and his gold eyes were heavy-lidded and unfocused as he gave Sokka a tilted smile. 

"Heyyy there, gorgeous." He rasped, slurred words deep and husky. Sokka's cheeks burned. Jesus, was Zuko also a flirty drunk? That was definitely... _something._ Before he could even retort, Zuko wrapped a strong arm around Sokka, shoving his face into Sokka's neck in a way that was eerily similar to the wholesome way Katara had done so with Aang.

Then Zuko deeply inhaled, rubbing his head on him and trying to...breathe in his scent??? And yeah, that comparison was instantly voided.

Sokka shivered, suddenly feeling very...vulnerable. "Z-Zuko, you're drunk. Calm down, man." He forced out, trying to will himself to stop blushing so hard. Zuko, at least, could still comprehend him, leaning away a bit but still keeping his arm wrapped comfortably around Sokka. With only a bit of hesitation, Sokka returned the sentiment, though it was mainly because Zuko seemed exhausted and drunk enough to just collapse on the dirt right then and there.

The house was actually decently nice. It was made for temporary rent, so it wasn't anything lavish, but it was two stories and felt pretty...homey, he supposed. Sokka didn't mind staying here for a couple of days, save for the fact that Sokka both had to share a bed with Zuko, and take care of him because drunk Zuko was such a damn child.

Spirits, maybe sleeping only an hour last night was a mistake, he felt so...pissy. He took a breath to calm himself, reasoning that as soon as he got Zuko ready for sleep, he was good, and could sleep for probably ten or so hours cause everyone else would be busy suffering from their hangovers, save Aang.

As soon as Sokka got to their room, he gently guided Zuko to the bed, smiling a bit as he saw him sleepily yawn and paw at his eyes. Tui and La, what a nerd. Right then, Zuko opened his eyes, staring up at Sokka, and without much thought, gently grabbed him by the wrist to tug Sokka down with him. He toppled, letting out a panicked squeak and falling directly onto Zuko's well-built chest and into Zuko's arms. _Holy shit._

"Zuko, you-" He started, but Zuko cut him off by lazily retorting " _Spirits_ , I missed you so much, Sokka...", once again doing the thing where he almost nuzzled into him. His heart raced faster in his chest, and all words he was planning to say just died on his tongue at that.

Was this...really life? Here he was, only a little tipsy, having to become a shitfaced Fire Lord's personal cuddle toy. Great. Too tired to complain, Sokka stayed subjected to this fate, just lying down and taking it, because he didn't really want to risk making his drunk friend cry. Eventually, Zuko had held him for long enough, slowly releasing his grip as he yawned, and Sokka rolled out of his grasp.

Sitting up, he stared at the mess that was Zuko. His hair had grown out a bit, not quite getting past his shoulders but still being long enough to tie in a bun. Problem was, the bun had become untied in the process of wrestling Sokka to the bed, so Zuko's ash black hair fanned freely around his head like a sort of halo. His porcelain skin was flushed a pretty shade of pink, his smile was just a bit too lopsided to be normal, and eyes were half-lidded and glossy.

"C'mon, buddy, we gotta get you out of these stupid formal clothes." Sokka murmured, because really, who the hell wore formal fire nation attire to a party where Toph was basically just getting drunk as hell? Zuko, that's who. Unfortunately, Zuko's hands went to shakily take off his jacket, but he was so out of it that he could only unbutton one of the buttons before letting out a huff and going limp.

Sokka knew what he should do, but it didn't make it any less...awkward. "Do you...want me to do it for you?" He asked, haltingly and tone so nervous. Zuko could only nod slightly in response, not saying anything as Sokka slowly undid his layers, taking off his jackets and boots and what not until Zuko was sitting in front of him, in only a tight shirt and dress pants. 

Sokka's adam's apple bobbed in his throat. 

Ever so slowly, he helped Zuko with his shirt, taking it off over his head, trying to stop himself from staring at his toned chest, because damn it, Sokka, he wasn't about to treat Zuko like a rebound from Suki. He was single, and that was fine. He was fine.

And right then, Zuko noticed his hesitation and drawled sleepily "Hmm, like what you see?...", a ghost of a smile on his face. And _**nope**_ , Sokka was _not_ touching that one with a ten-foot pole, heart racing as he forced his brain to shut up, shut up, shut up. His brain went on autopilot as he shakily undid Zuko's pants, staring at nothing but his own hands. As soon as they were off, he frantically jerked away from him, like Zuko's skin was fire to the touch.

He wordlessly grabbed a sleeveless shirt and loose pants Toph had left for them in a nearby drawer, keeping his head as empty as he could. Aang had mentioned it once, as a meditation technique, and Sokka was never the type for that shit but desperate times called for desperate measures. Weakly, he tugged the shirt onto Zuko and slipped on the pants. Zuko had probably sensed his shift in demeanor, because he didn't say a word for the next few minutes, silently laying down on the bed as Sokka slowly got himself ready for sleep.

When Sokka put out the candle in the room, letting the room be lit by only moonlight, he paused. Zuko's eyes had fluttered shut, and while he wasn't asleep, he seemed close. _It's almost over. All you have to do is just get him to sleep and you can forget about this in the morning._ Sokka gently guided him to a more comfortable position on the bed, resting his head gently on the pillow. And with a couple of seconds of hesitation, Sokka slowly laid down right next to him, staring at his pale porcelain face as he kept his head empty, empty, empty.

It seemed like Zuko had already fallen asleep, so Sokka relaxed, going to shut his eyes, right until he heard a low rasp. "You looked rrreeally lonely tonight." Sokka's eyes snapped open, eyes wide as he looked directly into thin golden eyes. Sokka's mouth ran dry, because he was mere inches away from him, from Zuko, in all his midnight, drunken glory.

Nervously, Sokka forced a chuckle, replying, "I wasn't, don't worry." He felt so small, so vulnerable, pinned down by Zuko's narrowed eyes, helpless, and spirits, he was regretting tonight so badly. Zuko didn't look satisfied by that answer. At all. He frowned, petulant, like a little child, as he slurred out "But you werre, you were....you were lookin' at Suh'ki alll the time."

Fuck.

Sokka found he couldn't reply to that. So Zuko spoke for him, slowly lifting a hand up and running his fingers along Sokka's cheek, making his breath hitch very audibly. _Holy shit, he was so fucking drunk, he was-_ "You looked really, rreally pretty tonight too." Zuko smiled crookedly, cheeks flushed even in the moonlight, and, fuck, Sokka's heart stuttered.

"You're-you're drunk, Zuko." He whispered, not sure who he was even trying to convince at this point, Zuko or himself.

Zuko had the gall to pout. "But you really did...." Almost absentmindedly, the boy traced Sokka's cheekbones, eyes unfocused, and Sokka couldn't breathe, he couldn't handle this, he...didn't know what to do. There was a lull in the conversation, where Zuko's hand slowly fell away from his face and he stilled, looking not at Sokka, but past him. A shiver ran down Sokka's spine.

After about a minute of quiet, Zuko finally spoke again.

"You...you always..." he mumbled, "were the one."

Sokka froze. Zuko paused a bit, eyes still glassy, and then he continued. "Like, so... good. Nice. Pretty.~" His lips curved up the slightest bit as he sighed the last word. Sokka choked out, "W-what do you mean?", and fuck, at this point he was going to have a heart attack because his heart was beating so damn hard.

Zuko didn't answer for another couple seconds, seeming to ponder the question as much as his drunken mind could. Then, he smiled, so soft under the moonlight, and Sokka could only stare at him, shivering. _This wasn't real life. This wasn't happening. This-_

"'Cause I love you, Sokka." He murmured, eyes sliding shut.

Everything stopped.

Sokka didn't understand. He couldn't speak, couldn't breathe, couldn't think for the next few seconds, mind drawing to a complete and utter blank. _This was never meant to happen._ His cheeks burned, blushing a crimson red as he stared at him, stared at the boy that made him realize he was bi at 16, stared at the boy who had been an enigma to him since day one, stared at the boy who was right in front of him, drunk and a mess and giving him a slurred confession, and something in him broke.

He wasn’t sure what exactly happened next. He knew at some point, Zuko had opened his eyes for a bit, at some point, he had noticed Sokka panicking, at some point, Sokka couldn’t control himself, and at some point, he had closed the distance between the two, pressing his lips against Zuko and wrapping his arms around him, not at all thinking about the consequences.

Zuko seemed to hesitate, taken aback, right before absolutely melting into him, intently kissing him back with so much energy Sokka was shocked he had ever thought he had fallen asleep. Zuko seemed frantic, wrapping his hands in his hair as if to ground him, to confirm that he was real and not just a mirage in the moonlight, but this was real, they were real, and it was...so perfect.

Sokka let his mouth fall open and felt Zuko did the same, only kissing him harder as everything fell into place. Zuko tasted like whiskey and smoke, and spirits, Sokka didn’t know why he was into it but he was. He let out the tiniest of moans, and spirits, that only excited Zuko more, as his tongue slipped into Sokka’s mouth and, fuck, he was _so_ into this.

Eventually, both pulled apart, Sokka noting absentmindedly that Zuko’s lips were plump and swollen. Zuko panted a bit, and Tui and La, Sokka had to bite his cheek to keep himself from just diving back in to kiss him, because this was so surreal but so right.

Zuko looked...shocked. Shocked and flushed and so damn hot, but then he smiled the slightest bit, muttering under his breath “I should get drunk more often...”

Reality crashed into Sokka.

Zuko was drunk. He was drunk and Sokka had practically taken advantage of him, drunk and probably could just not at all mean half of what he was saying right now, drunk and just being used as Sokka’s rebound, drunk and would just forget this ever happened in the morning.

Zuko didn’t seem to notice how tense Sokka had gotten, instead letting out a yawn and murmuring something that sounded like thank you, eyes falling shut once again. Sokka couldn’t breathe, for like the fifth time this night, and slowly, Sokka reached up to touch his own lips, wet and warm and swollen and his heart panged achingly in his chest.

Sokka laid there for a while, processing everything that had just unfolded in the past few hours. He heard Zuko’s breath still into a steady rhythm, confirming that he had finally fallen asleep, and even then, Sokka was lost. He was lost and lonely and so, so damn tired.

“I love you, too, Zuko.” He whispered, to no one but the night.

Silently, he gently kissed Zuko’s forehead, ran a shaking hand through his hair, and forced his eyes shut, relishing in the warmth Zuko radiated. _He’d fucked up, fucked up bad._ He’d be the only one to remember tonight, anyways, he quietly thought, wryly smiling. Tonight would be gone soon.

He’d be alone once again in the morning.

With a bitter ache in his chest, he slowly drifted off to sleep, dreams empty of anything but the boy next to him.

**Author's Note:**

> there’ll be more chapters of this!! im thinking maybe like, two more, the third one will be a lot more fluffy and stuff so dw I won’t torture Sokka too long!!  
> i just rlly rlly like my angst,,, (glances at my unrequited love zukka fic)
> 
> but like usual, tysm for reading!! <3


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